Pershyi Natsionalnyi

UA:First chanell UA:Перший
Launched	1 February 1939
Owned by	Government of Ukraine, National Television Company of Ukraine
Picture format	4:3 (576i, SDTV)
Country	Ukraine
Broadcast area	Ukraine; via satellite to outside areas with significant Ukrainian minorities
Headquarters	Kiev, Ukraine

First National (Ukrainian: Перший національний, Pershyi Natsionalnyi) is the state-run television channel in Ukraine, operated by the National Television Company of Ukraine. It is the only Ukrainian TV channel covering over 97% of Ukraine's territory. Its programs are oriented toward all levels of Ukrainian society and national minorities. Among priority directions of the network are information, popular science, culture, entertainment and sports.

On 1 September 2008, State Television went through a major rebranding that includes a updated logo, idents change and new program openers. The new logo consists of the word "Pershyi" ("First"). UT-1 (short for Ukrayinske Telebachennia - 1) is a traditional professional abbreviation of this channel.

UT planned to acquire public broadcaster status by 2009. Government would lose its direct control over the national network. The Public Television Network will consist of several channels, such as, "First Channel", "Second Channel", "Euronews Ukraine" and "Ukraine and the World".

History

The first attempt at Ukrainian television broadcasting was on February 1, 1939, and lasted for 40 minutes. The second attempt was well over six years after the conclusion of World War II, on November 6 and 7, 1951, in time for October Revolution Day, when the Kiev studio broadcast two shows. The next attempt was conducted on May 1, 1952 when the studio broadcast a concert anchored by Novela Separionova featuring local singers. The new television studios at 26 Khreschatyk for television broadcasting opened their doors in 1953. It was the third official telecenter established in the Soviet Union after Moscow (1934) and Leningrad (1937-38). Until 1956 the studio was only presenting a couple of shows per day; from November that year regular programming started. Live broadcasting (which makes the first generation TV announcers proud today) was the only form of broadcasting up to the introduction of videotape recording in the mid-1960s.

On 20 January 1965, TV viewers in some Ukrainian oblasts (regions) could see a screen with two big capital letters "УТ" ("UT") that symbolized the beginning of the united national station for the Ukrainian SSR, by now named Ukrainian Television. Its time on air was over 200 hours in 1965. On 6 March 1972, UT started to go on air on two channels at a time – УТ-1 (UT-1) and УТ-2 (UT-2). At the end of the 1970s the building of the UT on Khreshchatyk was reconstructed and the employees got three new studios, but the question of building a new modern TV-center was raised soon. The construction of the new UT headquarters started in 1983 and was finished in 1993. (By this point in time the former Soviet Union had dissolved and Ukraine was one of the resultant newly-independent countries.) The new center was built at 42 Melnykov Street and was officially inspected by the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk.

In 2002 the National Television Company of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Space Agency started to broadcast First National (UT-1) through a satellite abroad. In 2004 UT2 ended its operations and as a result UTR started its broadcasting on UT-2's frequency. UT-1 was renamed First Channel. In 2005 Taras Stets'kiv became the president of the National Television Company of Ukraine. First Channel prepared to and held the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 successfully in Kiev. In 2006 Vitaliy Dokalenko was appointed as the president of the National Television Company of Ukraine by former Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko. In 2010 Yehor Benkendorf, former chief producer of Inter TV channel, was appointed as the president of the National Television Company of Ukraine by Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich.

Logotype

Between 1972 and 1997 the logo was in the top left corner. From 1997–present, it is in the top right corner.

• Between March 6, 1972 and August 23, 1997, the logo was a large-type «УТ-1» and was white and semitransparent. It was on top left corner.
• Between August 24, 1997 and February 6, 1998, the logo was a red-green-blue triangle that remotely resembled a diagonal one. It was on top right corner.
• Between February 7, 1998 and August 23, 2005, the logo was white and transparent vertical line and was white and semitransparent. Its on-screen display position remained unchanged.
• Between August 24, 2005 and Marsh 31, 2006, the logo was white, was included in a ring with white boundary paths and red background. Its on-screen display position remained unchanged.
• Between April 1, 2006 and August 31, 2008, the logo was white, was included in a ring with white boundary paths and a transparent background. The logo was white and non-transparent. Its on-screen display position remained unchanged.
• From September 1, 2008–present, the logo is white and transparent logotype and was the Ukrainian word "ПЕРШИЙ", meaning first. Its on-screen display position remains unchanged.

Presidents

• until 1995 (National Television Company of Ukraine – State Tele-Radio Company of Ukraine)
• June 1, 1995 – August 21, 1996 Oleksandr Savenko
• August 21, 1996 – November 18, 1996 Zynoviy Kulyk (interim)
• November 18, 1996 – October 1, 1998 Viktor Leshyk
• October 5, 1998 – November 17, 1998 Mykola Kniazhytskyi
• November 17, 1998 – June 21, 1999 Zynoviy Kulyk
• June 21, 1999 – July 15, 1999 Oleksandr Savenko (interim)
• July 16, 1999 – November 19, 2001 Vadym Dolhanov
• November 19, 2001 – March 28, 2003 Ihor Storozhuk
• March 28, 2003 – February 25, 2005 Oleksandr Savenko (second term)
• February 25, 2005 – September 8, 2005 Taras Stetskiv
• October 27, 2005 – February 18, 2008 Vitaliy Dokalenko
• February 25, 2008 – March 17, 2010 Vasyl Ilaschuk
• March 17, 2010 – February 20, 2013 Ehor Benkendorf
• February 20, 2013 – March 24, 2014 Oleksandr Panteleymonov (interim)
• March 25, 2014 – present Zurab Alasania

See also

• Eastern Bloc information dissemination

External links

• Official Site